DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY STATUS OF RURAL FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the determinants of poverty status of rural farming households in Osun State, South western, Nigeria. A total of one hundred and twenty representative farming households comprising of the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the Farmers Empowerment Programme (FEP) in the state were used for the study. Descriptive statistics, the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke class of weighted poverty indices as well as the Tobit regression model were used to analyse the data generated from the survey. The results of the poverty indices show that 35 per cent of the beneficiaries of the Farmers Empowerment Programme were poor as against 55 per cent for the non-beneficiaries of the programme. The regression results show household size, amount of credit utilised and annual farm income as the factors influencing the poverty status of the rural farming households in the state. The lower incidence of poverty and access to credit for the beneficiaries of FEP in the state are indications of better welfare for this category of farming households. It is therefore suggested that the programme be sustained for poverty reduction among farming households in the state

Techno-economic assessment of photovoltaicdiesel generator-battery energy system for base transceiver stations loads in Nigeria

There are over 50,000 telecommunication base transceiver stations (BTS) operating on conventional diesel generators across Nigeria, giving rise to a high operational cost and emission of Greenhouse gases which can be minimized by the adoption of greener energy generation. Presented in this study, is an analysis of the techno-economic and emission impact of a stand-alone hybrid energy system designed for base transceiver stations (BTS) in the Nigerian telecom industry. Using various performance criteria the feasibility of adopting hybrid photovoltaic-diesel generator and battery (PV/DG/Battery) system is analyzed under two different diesel pump price regimes. In all, it is observed that all BTS locations across the six geopolitical zones could adopt PV/battery/DG hybrid renewable energy system in place of the diesel generator (DG) which is, presently, the main technology being used across the BTSs. Besides its economic advantages over the diesel generator, HRES configurations also performed better with respect to diesel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission

The Kumaraswamy-Power Distribution: A Generalization of the Power Distribution

We introduce a generalization referred to as the Kumaraswamy Power distribution. The proposed model serves as a generalization of the two-parameter Power distribution using the Kumaraswamy Generalized family of distributions. We investigate some of its statistical properties; the Generalized Power distribution, Exponentiated Power distribution and the Power distribution are found to be sub-models of the proposed distribution. The method of maximum likelihood estimation is proposed in estimating the parameters of the mode

Epidemiology and Treatment Options for COVID-19: A Review

The Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in Wuhan, China and spread around the world. As of 19 June 2020 data from the World Health Organization (WHO) have shown that more than 8457305 confirmed cases have been identified in more than 200 countries, with the number of cases cutting across all continents. On 30th January 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 as the sixth public health emergency of international concern. Genomic analysis revealed that SARS-CoV-2 is phylogenetically related to severe acute respiratory syndrome-like (SARS-like) bat viruses; therefore, bats could be the possible primary reservoir. The intermediate source of origin and transfer to humans is not known, however, the rapidhuman-to-human transfer has been confirmed widely via droplets or direct contact, and infection has been estimated to have mean incubation period of 6.4 days. Currently, controlling infection to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is the primary intervention being used. However, public health authorities should keep monitoring the situation closely, as the more we can learn about this novel virus and its associated outbreak, the better we can respond.  Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, China, Phylogenetic, Genomic analysis, Remdesivir Le COVID-19 est une nouvelle maladie mortelle avec des informations limitées sur sa transmissibilité, la gravité de ses séquelles, ses manifestations cliniques et l'épidémiologie. Ce commentaire a analysé l'épidémiologie mondiale du COVID-19 parmi la population vulnérable. L'analyse a révélé que la plupart des cas pédiatriques de COVID-19 ne sont pas graves, mais que des maladies graves associées surviennent toujours chez les enfants. Tous les âges des enfants sont sensibles au COVID-19 et aucune différence significative entre les sexes n'existe. L'infection au COVID-19 pendant la grossesse a eu des conséquences fatales pour les mères, mais moins risquées pour le bébé. Les groupes de points chauds pour le COVID-19 sont les prisons / prisons, les maisons de soins infirmiers / de groupe et les établissements à long terme où résident la plupart des populations vulnérables. Les groupes ethniques minoritaires aux États-Unis et au Royaume-Uni sont exposés de manière disproportionnée à l'infection au COVID-19 et à la mort que les Caucasiens. La différence peut être due au fait que les minorités ethniques sont exposées à des risques plus élevés au travail et aux disparités structurelles économiques et sanitaires de longue date dans les deux pays. Il y a maintenant des changements dans les lignes directrices sur les personnes qualifiées pour recevoir des ventilateurs dans des situations difficiles dans de nombreux pays du monde si le système de santé est débordé.  Mots-clés: COVID-19, épidémiologie, population vulnérabl

Autologous blood donations and transfusions among patients undergoing elective orthopaedic, gynaecologic and elective caesarean section at a Tertiary Hospital in North Central Nigeria

Introduction: Allogeneic donor blood is becoming increasingly costly, scarce and associated with multiple risks; there is need for more conservative transfusion strategies, one of which may be adoption of Autologous Blood Donation and Transfusions (ABDT). Despite increased acceptance of ABDT by clinicians and patients in most developed world, awareness in this part of the world is still low.Materials and methods: this is a cross sectional survey of knowledge and acceptance of ABDT by patients scheduled for elective orthopaedic, gynaecologic and elective caesarean section surgeries using structured interviewer administered questionnaire on socio-demographics, clinical presentations, knowledge of blood donations and transfusions, and acceptance of ABDT. The study population comprised of 171 subjects.Results: Gynaecologic/obstetric patients were 120 (70.2%) while 51 (29.8%) of the subjects were Orthopaedic patients. Majority (43.95%) were within the age range 31-45 years, 38.6% were less than 31 years while 17.5% were older than 45 years. Females constituted the larger proportion (77.2%). Twenty one (12.3%) subjects had donated blood in the past, 45 (26.3%) had previous blood transfusions and 30 (17.5%) had knowledge of ABDT. Eight one (47.4%) of all subjects accepted ABDT for the scheduled surgeries while 123 (71.9%) subjects accepted to be voluntary blood donors after surgery. Pre-deposit is the commonest form of ABDT preferred by the subjects (66%), followed by Haemodilution (28%) and Cell salvage (6%). A significant number of the subjects who accepted ABDT were ready to become voluntary blood donors after surgery (90.1%).Conclusion: Acceptance rate as high as 47.4% was recorded in this study despite low awareness. This is higher than what was reported by most authors’ locally but similar to the findings from Europe and Asia. Pre-deposit form was the commonest ABDT acceptable to these patients.  Improving awareness on ABDT will boost voluntary blood donations and improve blood transfusion safety

Human-Hippo Relationship in Selected Communities around Kainji Dam in New-Bussa, Niger State, Nigeria

Human-wildlife conflicts have become a significant issue in conservation and land management of a protected area. The study examines Hippo-Human relationship in selected communities around Kainji dam in New Bussa, Niger State, Nigeria. Data for the study was collected through pre tested structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings from the results revealed that male Hippopotamus is the highest with 75.0% and that 37% were 50 years and above. Majority of the respondents had no formal education (42.0%). 79% of the respondents recorded that Hippopotamus was present in the study area while 82.0% have had to encounter Hippopotamus attack. The crops that are mostly grown by the respondents in the study area are Maize, Beans, Millet, Guinea corn, Rice and Groundnut. In which maize is the mostly grown and raided by Hippopotamus. The findings revealed that 69.0% of the respondents state that crop raiding is the major conflict. Various preventive measures undertaken include: fire and smoke, watch guarding, trapping, scare crow, thorn fencing and hunting, with fire and smoke being the most preferred by the respondents. The victims of these attacks are willing to prevent the attacks with fire and smoke as against killing the Hippopotamus, they should be encourage by factoring compensation into conservation policy to promote the conservation of this species in the study area

Itaconic Acid Production from Date Palm (Phoenix Dactylifera L) Using Fungi in Solid State Fermentation

This study evaluates the potentials of Phoenix dactylifera L (Date fruits) as possible alternative raw materials for itaconic acid production using naturally occurring fungi. Date fruit (pulp) was used as a substrate in solid state fermentation for the production of itaconic acid using naturally occurring fungus.The date fruit (pulp) was de-capped from its seed manually with the aid of a knife and dried in an oven at 60 0C and was grounded using an Excella Mixer grinder. The fungus used was naturally isolated by fermentation of substrate (date pulp) and was identified as Aspergillus niger. Proximate analysis was carried out on the substrate using standard methods. Parameters such as substrate concentration, inoculum size and fermentation period were varied using standard methods to determine its effect on itaconic acid production. Assay for itaconic acid production was carried out using standard methods at a wavelength of 385nm. Amount of itaconic acid produced was derived by translation of absorbance values on the itaconic acid curve. The substrate had a high carbohydrate content of 72.29%. The fermentation results showed maximum production of itaconic acid of 20.75±0.25mg/ml using 40g substrate, 15.13±1.13mg/ml using 2 ml inoculums size of spore suspension (2×105 spores/ml) and a maximum yield of 16.88±0.13mg/ml at day 1 of fermentation period. On optimization with 40g substrate and 2 ml inoculums for 3 days a maximum yield was observed at day 2 of fermentation with a maximum yield of 25.00±1.00mg/ml. The highest acidic level throughout the fermentation period was observed to be at pH 4.2. From the study it was concluded that date pulp is a promising substrate and could be utilized by Aspergillus niger for the production of itaconic acid

Multiscale modeling of monoclonal antibody (mAb) production and glycosylation in a CHO cell culture process

The production of recombinant therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) using cultured mammalian cells accounts for approximately $80 billion in global sales annually. These antibodies are often produced using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines that execute the necessary post-translational modifications (e.g., glycosylation) for the drug to be therapeutically efficacious. Glycosylation is an intracellular, enzymatic process by which glycans (i.e., sugar molecules) are attached to a specific location on the antibody. The structure of the glycans attached to the mAb affects the therapeutic function of the molecule, making glycan distribution a critical quality attribute. Consequently, the ability to predict how variations in process parameters and/or media components affect both product formation and glycosylation is important from both a process development and process control viewpoint. A multiscale, mathematical model describing CHO cell growth and antibody production was developed in MATLAB to provide a quantitative understanding of how to manipulate a cell culture process to improve antibody titer and control glycosylation effectively. At the macro (bioreactor) scale, the model uses Monod growth kinetics to describe cell growth, nutrient/metabolite concentrations, and mAb production; at the micro scale, the glycosylation process in the Golgi apparatus is modeled using a glycosylation reaction network governed by Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics. Although both macro and micro scale processes are dynamic, disparate time scales makes it possible to solve the (fast) glycosylation model as a static function of the (slowly changing) macro scale state variables. In this multidisciplinary study, we will present a design of experiments approach for (1) identifying significant factors affecting glycosylation—including concentrations of asparagine, glutamine, and copper in the media, and (2) using these factors as macro scale “inputs” to the micro scale model. Model predictions are validated against an independent data set from a representative industrial mammalian cell culture process. Ultimately, the models we discuss will be valuable for biopharmaceutical process development and model-based control system design

Rapid temporal changes in the expression of a set of neuromodulatory genes during alcohol withdrawal in the dorsal vagal complex: molecular evidence of homeostatic disturbance.

BACKGROUND: Chronic alcohol exposure produces neuroadaptation, which increases the risk of cellular excitotoxicity and autonomic dysfunction during withdrawal. The temporal progression and regulation of the gene expression that contributes to this physiologic and behavioral phenotype is poorly understood early in the withdrawal period. Further, it is unexplored in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC), a brainstem autonomic regulatory structure. METHODS: We use a quantitative polymerase chain reaction platform to precisely and simultaneously measure the expression of 145 neuromodulatory genes in more than 100 rat DVC samples from control, chronically alcohol-exposed, and withdrawn rats. To gain insight into the dynamic progression and regulation of withdrawal, we focus on the expression of a subset of functionally relevant genes during the first 48 hours, when behavioral symptoms are most severe. RESULTS: In the DVC, expression of this gene subset is essentially normal in chronically alcohol-exposed rats. However, withdrawal results in rapid, large-magnitude expression changes in this group. We observed differential regulation in 86 of the 145 genes measured (59%), some as early as 4 hours into withdrawal. Time series measurements (4, 8, 18, 32, and 48 hours after alcohol removal) revealed dynamic expression responses in immediate early genes, γ-aminobutyric acid type A, ionotropic glutamate, and G-protein coupled receptors and the Ras/Raf signaling pathway. Together, these changes elucidate a complex, temporally coordinated response that involves correlated expression of many functionally related groups. In particular, the expression patterns of Gabra1, Grin2a, Grin3a, and Grik3 were tightly correlated. These receptor subunits share overrepresented transcription factor binding sites for Pax-8 and other transcription factors, suggesting a common regulatory mechanism and a role for these transcription factors in the regulation of neurotransmission within the first 48 hours of alcohol withdrawal. CONCLUSIONS: Expression in this gene set is essentially normal in the alcohol-adapted DVC, but withdrawal results in immediate, large-magnitude, and dynamic changes. These data support both increased research focus on the biological ramifications of alcohol withdrawal and enable novel insights into the dynamic withdrawal expression response in this understudied homeostatic control center

A Trial of Early Antiretrovirals and Isoniazid Preventive Therapy in Africa

BACKGROUND: In sub-Saharan Africa, the burden of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated tuberculosis is high. We conducted a trial with a 2-by-2 factorial design to assess the benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART), 6-month isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), or both among HIV-infected adults with high CD4+ cell counts in Ivory Coast. METHODS: We included participants who had HIV type 1 infection and a CD4+ count of less than 800 cells per cubic millimeter and who met no criteria for starting ART according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: deferred ART (ART initiation according to WHO criteria), deferred ART plus IPT, early ART (immediate ART initiation), or early ART plus IPT. The primary end point was a composite of diseases included in the case definition of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), non-AIDS-defining cancer, non-AIDS-defining invasive bacterial disease, or death from any cause at 30 months. We used Cox proportional models to compare outcomes between the deferred-ART and early-ART strategies and between the IPT and no-IPT strategies. RESULTS: A total of 2056 patients (41% with a baseline CD4+ count of ≥500 cells per cubic millimeter) were followed for 4757 patient-years. A total of 204 primary end-point events were observed (3.8 events per 100 person-years; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.3 to 4.4), including 68 in patients with a baseline CD4+ count of at least 500 cells per cubic millimeter (3.2 events per 100 person-years; 95% CI, 2.4 to 4.0). Tuberculosis and invasive bacterial diseases accounted for 42% and 27% of primary end-point events, respectively. The risk of death or severe HIV-related illness was lower with early ART than with deferred ART (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.76; adjusted hazard ratio among patients with a baseline CD4+ count of ≥500 cells per cubic millimeter, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.94) and lower with IPT than with no IPT (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.88; adjusted hazard ratio among patients with a baseline CD4+ count of ≥500 cells per cubic millimeter, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.36 to 1.01). The 30-month probability of grade 3 or 4 adverse events did not differ significantly among the strategies. CONCLUSIONS: In this African country, immediate ART and 6 months of IPT independently led to lower rates of severe illness than did deferred ART and no IPT, both overall and among patients with CD4+ counts of at least 500 cells per cubic millimeter. (Funded by the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis; TEMPRANO ANRS 12136 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00495651.)